$.515-524 lacking BONAPARTE'S CRUELTY: $27 no fooner elected, than he threw away his crutch, and with it all his affumed debility, and, to the great aftonishment of the whole conclave, he appeared taller by almost a foot than he had done for feveral years. Nor was his change in manners less remarkable than in his perfon: he immediately divested himself of the humility he had fo long profeffed; and, laying afide his accustomed civility and complaisance, treated every body with referve and haughtiness. He was a fevere magiftrate, but an excellent reformer of the vicious manners of the inhabitants of Rome; a patron of learning and of men of genius, and though too bigotted, an exemplary pontiff. He died August 27, in the year 1590, having enjoyed the papacy little more than five years. Remarkable Inflances of BONAPARTE'S EXTREME CRUELTY in EGYPT. [Extracted from the Hiftory of the British Expedition to Egypt, by Robert Thomas Wilfon, Lieutenant-Colonel of Cavalry, in his Britannic Maj fiy's Service, juft published.] GENERAL HUTCHINSON at a time being very angry with the Turks, for perfifting in the practice of mangling and cutting off the heads of the French prifoners, remonstrated with the Captain Pacha, who iffued very severe orders against it; but the Turks juftified themselves by the maffacre at Jaffa. As this act, and that of poisoning the fick, have never been credited, becaufe of fuch enormities being fo incredibly atrocious, an attempt to defcribe them may not be deemed an intrusion. Bonaparte having carried the town of Jaffa by affault, many of the garrifon were put to the fword; but the greater part flying into the mofques, and imploring mercy from their purfuers, were granted their lives. Three days after wards, wards, Bonaparte, who had expreffed much resentment at the compaffion manifefted by his troops, and determined to relieve himself from the maintenance and care of three thousand, eight hundred prifoners, ordered them to be marched to a rifing ground near Jaffa; where a division of French infantry formed against them. When the Turks had entered into their fatal alignment, and the mournful preparations were completed, the fignal being fired, vollies of mufquetry and grape instantly played against them; and Bonaparte, who had been regarding the feene through a telescope, when he faw the fmoke afcending, could not restrain his joy, but broke out into exclamations of approval: indeed, he had just reafon to dread the refufal of his troops, thus to difhonour themselves. Kleber had remonftrated in the most strenuous manner, and the officer of the Etat-Major, who commanded (for the general to whom the divifion belonged was abfent) even refused to execute the order without a written instruction: but Bonaparte was too cautious, and fent Berthier to enforce obedience. When the Turks had all fallen, the French troops humanely endeavoured to put a period to the fufferings of the wounded; but fome time elapfed before the bayonet could finish what the fire had not deftroyed, and probably. many languished days in agony. Several French officers, by whom thefe details are partly furnished, declared, that this was a fcene, the retrofpect of which tormented their recollection, and that they could not reflect on it without horror, accuftomed as they had been to fights of cruelty. These were the prifoners whom Affalini in his very able work alludes to, when he fays, that for three days the Turks fhewed no fymptoms of that disease, and it was their putrefying remains which contributed to produce the peftilential malady which he defcribes as afterwards making fuch ravages in the French army. Their bones lie still in heaps, and are fhewn to every traveller who arrives; nor can AT JAFFA IN EGYPT. 529 can they be confounded with those who perished in the affault, fince this field of butchery lies a mile from the town. Bonaparte had previously in perfon inspected the whole body of troops, amounting to near five thousand men, with the object of faving those who belonged to the towns he was preparing to attack. The age and noble phyfiognomy veteran Janiffary attracted his obfervation, and he asked him sharply, "Old man, what did you here?" The' janissary, undaunted, replied, " I must answer that question by asking you the fame; your anfwer will be, that you came to serve your fultan; fo did I mine." The intrepid frankness of the reply excited univerfal intereft in his fa-' vour: Bonaparte even smiled. "He is faved," whispered fome of the aids-de-camp. "You know not Bonaparte," obferved one who had ferved with him in Italy, "that fmile, I speak from experience, does not proceed from the fentiment of benevolence; remember what I fay." The opinion was too true. The Janiffary was left in the ranks, doomed to death, and fuffered. Such a fact, however, should not be alledged without fome proof, or leading circumftance ftronger than affertion, being produced to fupport it; but there would be want of generofity in naming individuals, and branding them to the latest pofterity with infamy, for obeying a command when their fubmiffion became an act of neceffity, fince the whole army did not mutiny against the execution; therefore to establish further the authenticity of the relation, this only can be mentioned, that it was Bonn's divifion which fired, and thus every one is afforded the opportunity of fatisfying themselves refpe&ing the truth, by enquiring of officers ferving in the different brigades compofing this divifion. The next circumftance of Bonaparte's cruelty is of a nature which requires indeed the most particular details to establish, fince the idea can scarce be entertained that the' VOL. I. No. 12. 3 Y commander commander of an army should order his own countrymen, (or if not immediately fuch, those amongst whom he had been naturalised) to be deprived of existence, when in a state which required the kindeft confideration. But the annals of France record the frightful crimes of a Robespierre and a Carrere. Hiftorical truth must now recite one equal to any which has blackened its page. Bonaparte finding that his hospitals at Jaffa were crowded with fick, fent for a physician, whofe name should be inscribed in letters of gold, but which, from important reasons, cannot be here inferted. On his arrival, he entered into a long converfation with him refpecting the danger of contagion, concluding at laft with the remark, that Lomething must be done to remedy the evil, and that the deftruction of the fick at present in the hospital, was the only measure which could be adopted. The physician, alarmed at the propofal, bold in the confidence of virtue and the cause of humanity, remonstrated vehemently, representing the cruelty as well as the atrocity of such a murder; but finding that Bonaparte perfevered and menaced, indignantly left the tent, with this memorable observation: "Neither my principles, nor the character of my profeffion, will allow me to become a murderer; and, General, if fuch qualities as you infinuate are necessary to form a great man, I thank my God that I do not poffefs them.” Bonaparte was not to be diverted from his object by moral confiderations; he perfevered, and found an apothecary, who, (dreading the weight of power, but who fince has made an atonement to his mind by unequivocally confeffing the fact) confented to become his agent, and adminifter poifon to the fick. Opium at night was distributed in gratifying food, the wretched unfufpecting victims banqueted, and in a few hours, five hundred and eighty foldiers, who had fuffered fo much for their country, perifhed thus miferably by the order of its idol. SIR R. WILSON'S ACCOUNT. 531 Is there a Frenchman whofe blood does not chill with horror at the recital of fuch a fact? Surely the manes of these murdered unoffending people must be now hovering round the feat of government, and If a doubt should ftill exift as to the veracity of this ftatement, let the members of the inftitute at Cairo be asked what paffed in their fitting, after the return of Bonaparte from Syria; they will relate, that the fame virtuous phyfician, who refufed to become the deftroyer of those committed to his protection, accused Bonaparte of high-treafon in the full affembly, against the honour of France, her children, and humanity; that he entered into the full details of the poisoning the fick, and the massacre of the garrifon, aggravating these crimes by charging Bonaparte with Strangling previously at Rosetta, a number of French and Copts, who were ill of the plague; thus proving that this difpofal of his fick was a premeditated plan, which he wifhed to introduce into general practice. In vain Bonaparte attempted to justify himself; the members fat petrified with terror, and almost doubted whether the scene passing before their eyes was not an illufion. Affuredly all these proceedings will not be found in the minutes of the Inftitute; no, Bonaparte's policy forefaw the danger, and power produced the erafure; but let no man, calculating on the force of circumstances which may prevent such an avowal as is folicited, presume on this to deny the whole: there are records which yet remain, and which in due feafon will be produced. In the interim, this representation will be fufficient to ftimulate enquiry; and, Frenchmen, your honour is indeed interested in the examination. Bonaparte pleaded in the affembly that he ordered the garrifon to be deftroyed because he had not provifions to maintain them, or ftrength enough to guard them, and that it was evident if they efcaped, they would act against the French, 3Y 2 |